Edu, 25, has been struggling to make an impact for Walter Smith's SPL title favourites recently but the USA international insists he still has plenty of belief in his own ability and is sure he can prove his worth before the end of the season.

"There will always be periods when you have ups and downs but as long as you stay mentally strong and you still have the desire to win that can carry you a long way," Edu said.

"It's been an up-and-down season for me. I felt I started pretty strongly but I've had a bit of a dip in form recently. That's part of the game though.

"It's important for me to keep my head and keep working hard for the team. Sometimes you hit a bad patch of form and it would be easy for your head to drop. But if things aren't going well for you technically there are still things that you can contribute to the team.

"You can make up for it in some way with work-rate and effort. Right now, I'm just trying to keep focused on working hard for the team and trying to get myself out of this bit of a funk that I'm in."

Rangers remain a point ahead of Celtic at the top of the SPL after the Hoops' shock loss to Inverness Caledonian Thistle on Wednesday. Smith's side face Hearts, Dundee United and Kilmarnock in their final three games of the season.